Tag Archives: Pauillac

An unforgettable tour of top-flight châteaux – day one

As mentioned below, I belong to a virtual community based in several countries called www.bordeauxwineenthusiasts.com

Along with a friend in Paris and others in London and the US, I organized a 5-day tour of top-flight Bordeaux châteaux for 18 people.
This took a great deal of planning, months in advance, but was well worth the effort.

We started off with Château Palmer. All my Bordeaux-loving friends adore Palmer, and I’m not about to disagree. It is not rare for me and others to find Palmer better than Margaux in certain vintages, and such was the case with 2014 in my opinion. Anyway, we were shown around by Céline Cassat, and I give her full marks for starting out in the vineyard, explaining the lay of the land, the estate’s winegrowing philosophy and, of course, their recent turn to organic and biodynamic viticulture. This was as opposed to most châteaux that only show visitors their cellars.
Palmer has been entirely renovated and is clearly in full swing. The grounds are beautiful, the château looks great, and the cellar is now magnificently-equipped.
We tasted 2011 Alter Ego and 2006 Palmer. The former was smooth and is in an early-maturing, more commercial style. The latter had velvety tannin and good grip, and will also show well before too long.

We went from Palmer to 5th growth Château du Tertre, which has belonged to Dutch businessman Eric Albada Jelgersma since 1997, as has 3rd growth Château Giscours. Several members of the group had specifically asked to go to du Tertre because the wine offers such excellent value for money. We were very well received by Marc Verpaalen and not disappointed with what we tasted. After sampling the elegant and fairly forward 2012 du Tertre and 2012 Giscours, we went for a light lunch on a beautiful veranda overlooking a swimming pool and the château.
You have to admit that Bordeaux does some things extremely well…
The wines we had at lunch were 2009 du Tertre, 2006 Caiarossa from Tuscany (also owned by Eric Albada Jelgersma), 2014 Giscours and du Tertre, as well as 2004 Giscours. The 2014s are very promising and the 2004 was good for the vintage and ready to drink now.
Marc informed us that since the owner’s son is allergic to red wine, Château du Tertre will be soon be producing a white wine.

While organizing this trip, I learned that the first growths now limit the number of visitors, which made planning things a little hairy. Such was the case with Château Latour, who accept no more than 10 people. However, much to their credit, they agreed to welcome two groups in succession.

: The famous tower…

: Tasting room at Latour

While the first group visited Léoville Las Cases, the other half, including myself, went to Latour. Like many top-flight châteaux, they have expanded and renovated their cellars, which are now in tip-top condition. We were first of all ushered into a room to watch a film about the château. This had tinkly faux-Zen music and didn’t seem particularly to focus on Latour rather than any other wine estate. Once past this rather boring introduction, we went on a guided tour. The facilities were as impeccable as one would expect at a first growth. We also admired their new wine library, with magnums going back a very long way. The tasting room is wonderful, and we sampled three wines there: the 2011 Pauillac, the 2008 Forts de Latour, and the 2004 Latour. The Pauillac was very attractive, Les Forts lacked some richness and concentration, but was still quite nice, and the Latour proved to be lovely with fine textured tannin. It is also quite enjoyable to drink now. No, you don’t always have to wait decades to drink these wines, even if that is the case in great years.

After Latour, I went with half the group to Château Gruaud Larose. This was a wonderful visit. It started out with a trip up a steel tower that has just been built to house an observation post and a visitor reception center. This affords a fantastic view of the estate and the surrounding countryside, including manicured grounds and gardens. We were taken around the cellars by winemaker Stéphanie Lebaron Bouchonneau. As always, it’s the person and not the surroundings, however luxurious they may be, that makes visiting a wine estate memorable. Stéphanie is charming, relaxed, funny and, above all, extremely competent. She poured us a number of wines. 2014 Sarget (the second wine) was simple and nice, 2014 Gruaud Larose quite tannic and promising, 2006 GL a little too oaky, and 1998 GL – 17 years old – perhaps a little dry, but at its peak and very enjoyable. It is a treat and a rarity to drink a wine that old when visiting a Bordeaux estate.

Afterward, we went to Château Léoville Barton, where Liliane Barton welcomed us warmly, despite the fact that we were not on time… Liliane’s family have owned Langoa and Léoville Barton since the 1820s, and are definitely part of the Médoc aristocracy. However, Llilian is a relaxed, down-to-earth person and very much a philosopher in her own way. Trends come and go, but the Bartons have nearly two centuries of experience in making fine wine, and so are very circumspect. For instance, Liliane is against green harvesting because she feels that what works one year complicates things the following year. We started out by tasting the other Barton estate, 2011 Château Mauvesin-Barton, which I have talked about elsewhere on the blog. We then sampled 2012 Langoa Barton which, like some other wines from this vintage, was already showing very well. The 2014 Léoville Barton was sweet and seductive on the nose, lacking perhaps just a touch of weight and richness to back up the structure. It is nevertheless a fine, classic wine.

The final château that day was Léoville Poyferré, where we were welcomed by the bubbly Anne Cuvelier, who speaks good English and clearly enjoys explaining the ins and outs of winemaking. The group had dinner at the newly-refurbished château (a recurring theme, as you can see).

If you have read this far, please note that all of the above was in just one day, which is about the maximum anyone could possibly fit in!

We tasted the wines at dinner rather than beforehand. The 2014 Moulin Riche was light, fruity, upfront and – unsurprisingly – less serious than the grand vin. The 2012 was better than expected and I am not far from thinking that 2012 may actually be better than 2011 in many instances in the Médoc. The 2008 Léoville Poyferré had a fine ethereal nose and lovely blackberry flavors on the palate. The 2007 was light and refreshing and the 2005 was deep and classic, with rich berry fruit.

An unforgettable tour of top-flight châteaux – day four

Flags out in honor of visitors

: Alfred Tesseron

: Lunch at Pontet Canet

Our final day was a wine lover’s dream. We arrived at Château Pontet Canet at 11 am and immediately noticed three flags had been put up in honor of group members hailing from Canada, England, and the US. We took a walk around the vineyards with the English-speaking guide and then tasted four wines (2014, 13, 12, and 11 – but not in that order) with Alfred Tesseron and estate manager Jean-Michel Comme. I actually preferred the 2012, followed by the 2014, the 2011 and the 2013. Then it was time for lunch. And what a lunch it was! Drinking 2003 Dom Pérignon in the château salon was a very good kick-off. Then all 18 of us trooped to the formal dining room where Alfred Tesseron held court, despite feeling somewhat under the weather.

The 2000 Pontet Canet is ready to drink, which is the case with many wines of that vintage despite what you may have heard. The 2003 is a somewhat controversial wine, but it showed very well – not too big, although a little raisiny. Alfred Tesseron says that appearances are deceptive and that it has a long life ahead of it. The 2005 was not quite up to the vintage’s reputation in my opinion.

One of the group members had brought a 1962 Pontet Canet purchased at auction years ago. Alfred Tesseron went into his private cellar and brought out a bottle from the same vintage so we could compare. In fact, the wines were not far apart, and I actually preferred the one that had been trundled many miles and stored less than perfectly.

Afterward, we drove to Château Ducru Beaucaillou, where cellarmaster René Lusseau took us around. He is a true product of the Médoc and translating his puns and local references was no easy task. We visited their semi-underground cellar and went on to taste three wines. 2011 Lalande Borie was a little one-dimensional, but good enough. The 2008 La Croix Beaucaillou was showing a little too much oak, and the 2001 Ducru Beaucaillou was at its peak – which makes me think it is high time to start opening the fine wines in my cellar from that vintage.

Our next stop was at Lynch Bages. This estate is very much into wine tourism. Not only do they receive visitors easily, including on Sunday (a rare phenomenon in Bordeaux), but the Cazes family has also established a little hamlet nearby with a restaurant (Café Lavinal), baker, butcher, and gift shop. We received a standard tour and then tasted several wines from the Cazes stable, starting with Les Ormes de Pez, Echo de Lynch Bages, and Lynch Bages from the 2014 vintage. Unsurprisingly, Lynch Bages was the star here, with the château’s trademark blackcurrant fruit. We also tasted 2007 Ormes de Pez and Lynch Bages, neither of which left a particularly fine impression. We finished with the 2014 Blanc de Lynch Bages that displayed a very fresh varietal (Sauvignon Blanc) nose and a considerable amount of oak.

The last stop of the day, and the end of the tour, was at Château Pichon Longueville. This was a wonderful end to a memorable trip. We were taken around by Nicolas Santier, who did a tremendous job. He is extremely well-informed, speaks excellent English, and has a great sense of humor. He made us feel very much at home – even when we went to dinner in the château, in the lap of luxury…

Prior to dinner, Nicolas took us through a fascinating tasting in one of the best equipped tasting rooms I know. It was also quite appreciable to be able to sit down by this point!
We sampled 2014 Pibran and then 2014, 2010, 2009, and 2008 Pichon Baron. I think Pibran is one of the best value wines in the Médoc and was therefore not surprised to enjoy the 2014. All the Pichons were top-notch, and I was especially taken with the 2008. The others may be intrinsically better, but they need a great deal of time to come together, especially the 2010.

We went from the tasting room to the château, where we were immediately served a glass of Jacquesson Champagne (I believe it was the 735, but why in the world do they give their wines numbers instead of names?) and invited to walk around and admire the beautifully decorated rooms and antique furniture. Then it was time for a formal meal in the lovely dining room. The following wines were served: 2012 “S” de Suduiraut (a dry Sauternes), 2004 Pichon Baron, 2003 Pichon Baron, and 1988 Pichon Baron. The white wine was perky and nice, more attractive than serious, and probably best enjoyed young. The 2004 Baron was a little weak on the middle palate, a tad dry, and still youthful. The 2003 once again belied the preconceived notion that the wines of this vintage are top-heavy, overly alcoholic, and flabby. 2003 Pichon was certainly rich, but not outrageously so, and had good acidity. Very pleasant. The 1988 was served blind and correctly guessed by one of the group members who had bought cases of the wine. It was “à point” and a wonderful way to end the series. A silky, aromatic 2005 Suduiraut was served with dessert.

We left the château replete, tired, and extremely happy. Looking back at the floodlit château and its reflecting pond, we were filled with admiration for the majesty of the great wines of Bordeaux, as well as the genius of the Bordelais in linking their wines with magnificent structures such as this.

2000 Château Clerc Milon

I’m having a whale of a time drinking many of my 2000 Bordeaux. There will always be people telling you to wait another couple of decades, to which I say “Bah, humbug !”. Of course, the very top wines may need that much time. But many, many wines of less exalted lineage are fine just now.
Trust me.

To wit, this 2000 Clerc Milon (40 hectares), a 5th growth from the Mouton Rothschild stable. I’ve always liked Clerc Milon and agree with conventional views that it is one notch above its brother, another 5th growth Pauillac, Ch. d’Armailhac (70 hectares), with which it is inevitably compared. This is reflected in the prices of the respective wines.

I visited the new Clerc Milon cellar last year. It is built in a resolutely modern style on a rise directly overlooking Ch. Lafite Rothschild.
Apparently, a new cellar is also planned for d’Armailhac in the near future.

Back to the wine… 2000 Clerc Milon has a medium-deep colour and a bricking rim, looking slightly older than its age. The wine leaves thick legs on the glass. By the way, there is a common misconception that this is due to glycerine. However, I can remember a tasting tutored by the late Professor Emily Peynaud in which he said that this is incorrect: it is due to alcohol.

The nose is not very pronounced. It is a little dusty with subtle hints of raisins and black fruit jelly.

The wine is more interesting on the palate. It starts our round, then dips, and comes back with an assertive velvety tannic texture. It is warming, a little dry, and has a strong finish that even displays a little alcoholic hotness. The flavors include ethereal cherry-vanilla nuances and even some menthol/eucalyptus notes. The aftertaste is what makes this wine worthwhile. The textured tannin and grip also show that, although it has definitely entering its drinking window, it will stay on its plateau for a long time. In the galaxy of Médoc great growths this wine is middle of the road. But that’s still saying a great deal, and it is unquestionably a good, solid Pauillac.